Safety is a priority on hunting trips

Our Northern District fishing issues remain on the front burner, but the heat has been turned down just a bit.

We’ve made our case to Fish and Game and requested a hearing in front of the Board of Fisheries. About all we can do for the short term is wait for responses from the other side and react accordingly.

Since there’s a pause in the Cook Inlet fish wars, let’s look at another outdoor activity most of us enjoy — hunting.

The waterfowl season opened this past Saturday. I haven’t heard much from friends who hunt the local ducks and geese, so I can’t comment on how things are. I haven’t hunted waterfowl for a few years for a multitude of reasons, mostly physical, and if I can solve my current situation, I look forward to resuming a very pleasant pastime. You have to admit, the weather has been perfect for duck hunting!

We’re about halfway through the moose season. Again, I haven’t heard anything from friends who hunt about any successful harvests. I plan to get out the last week to 10 days of the season since that’s when I most enjoy chasing moose. The weather is usually a little cooler, the bugs are gone, and the bulls tend to be moving in search of romance, increasing the odds of an encounter.

One thing I have heard about is the increased numbers of injuries/deaths related to hunting activities. There have been several news stories from around the state about the number of small plane crashes resulting in injury or death because more hunters are out flying. In the last week, I saw a news report involving an all-terrain-vehicle accident where, if I remember, the operator was killed. There have been two recent news stories of hunters killed by firearms discharges while hunting.

I’m not a pilot so I can’t comment on those situations other than to say, given our recent bad weather, maybe it isn’t so important to try to beat the storm front to get a quick look for critters or return from a trip! My mother used to say, “There are old pilots and bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots!” I think that makes the point nicely.

I’ve tipped an ATV while hunting and gotten really stuck on other occasions as well, so I know how easily those things can happen. The trick is being prepared by carrying gear to get unstuck and by wearing the proper safety equipment. Yes, I would suggest wearing a helmet, long pants with heavy boots and long sleeves, and leather gloves. While I haven’t always followed my own advice, I usually try to at least bring a helmet along and if conditions warrant, wear it while side-hilling or running up or down steep hills. I especially appreciate the helmet if conditions allow a fast run for some distance. If the weather is cold or rainy, the helmet offers a level of comfort I usually can’t achieve otherwise.

There is simply no excuse for the two firearms incidents. The first involved cleaning a rifle in a cabin after a day’s hunt. According to the news write-up I saw, the “empty” rifle discharged while the handler was “manipulating” it, whatever that means! While I’m sure the shooting was not intentional, the handler still broke several of the rules of safe firearms handling: did not positively confirm the gun was unloaded, pointed the muzzle at a person, had a finger on the trigger inappropriately, etc.

I just heard about the second shooting death and the details were sketchy. However, a woman was shot by her hunting partner while out hunting. I’m guessing the fatal shot was fired at a target which was thought to be an animal and where proper identification was not made before the trigger was pulled.

Notice I did not and will not refer to these shootings as “accidents.” I’m sure neither was done intentionally and both shooters will now have to live the rest of their lives knowing they killed a person because of their own failure to follow safe gun handling etiquette. However, I want to emphasize that both incidents could easily have been avoided if the gun handler in each case thought about what they were doing as they

did it.

Hunting is enjoyable for a multitude of reasons. With a little training and thought, you can do it safely for the rest of your life!

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Leave him a message by emailing sports@frontiersman.com.